Third of young adults in England between 18 and 29 have not had first dose of Covid vaccine

A THIRD of young adults in England have still not had a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, new figures show.

Some 66.4% of people aged 18 to 29 had received a first dose as of July 18, according to estimates from NHS England - meaning 33.6% are likely to be unjabbed.

This is the equivalent of around 2.9 million adults under 30.

A breakdown of this age group by gender shows vaccine take-up continues to be lower among males than females.

An estimated 71.9% of women aged 25 to 29 have had a first dose, compared with only 65.0% of men.

And among 18-24 year-olds, while 68.2% of women are estimated to have received one dose, only 60.0% of men have done so.

All adults in England have been able to book a first dose since June 17 - more than a month before the latest snapshot of vaccinations by age.

The Government has urged young adults to come forward for a first jab, while announcing plans for a "Covid vaccine passport" that would make full vaccination a requirement for entry to nightclubs and other venues from the end of September.

The slow take-up among young adults is also continuing to have an impact on the overall rate of vaccinations in England.

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As of July 21, 39.0 million first doses had been delivered in England - the equivalent of 87.7% of the adult population.

This is up 0.7 percentage points from 87.0% a week earlier.

It compares with week-on-week growth of one percentage point on July 14, 1.4 points on July 7 and 2.4 points on June 30.

Take-up of first doses among older age groups has levelled off in recent weeks, settling at around 94% of people aged 80 and over, 99% of 70 to 79-year-olds, 98% of 60-69 year-olds and 95% of 50 to 59-year-olds.

The figures are lower for 40-49 year-olds (89%) and 30-39 year-olds (80%), and take-up among these age groups has also slowed in the last two weeks.

There are 16 local authority areas in England where less than half of 18-24 year-olds are estimated to have received a first dose of vaccine, according to analysis by the PA news agency.

The areas with the lowest proportions are Islington in London (40.6%), Birmingham (40.8%), Lewisham in London (46.2%) and Liverpool (46.7%).

By contrast there are 10 local authority areas where at least 90% of 18-24 year-olds have received a first dose: East Devon, Elmbridge, Hart, Harrogate, North Kesteven, Richmondshire, Rutland, South Oxfordshire, Test Valley and Wiltshire.

In four areas, less than half of 25 to 29-year-olds are estimated have received a first dose: Coventry (41.7%), Nottingham (46.1%), Birmingham (46.5%) and Barking & Dagenham in London (48.6%).

There are 18 areas where at least 90% of 25-29 year-olds have had their first jab: Cambridge, Cherwell, City of London, Cotswold, Elmbridge, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrogate, Hart, Isles of Scilly, Mole Valley, Richmond upon Thames, South Cambridgeshire, South Oxfordshire, Test Valley, Wandsworth, Waverley, Woking and Wokingham.